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Point of view?
Expectations Professors around the nation understand what graduate students are required to do, and have certain expectations for such. So as a graduate student you will be required to accomplish certain goals set by you and the department you are working for. Professors will work along side of you to achieve you goals, but ultimately it will be up to you as a student. Undergraduate studies focuses on broad teaching and graduate program focuses on a specific field. Homework assignments will slip to the way side but your thesis paper looms in your future, so your time will need to be spent accordingly. The relationship you will cultivate with your Graduate Assistant Professor will not be the typical student-teacher realtionship. Rather, you will work as equals to accomplish similar ends to your research. As we discoverd from interviewing Professor Dr. John Henshaw of the Mechaincal Engineering Department of the Univeristy of Tulsa, being a graduate student has very key differences compared to that of an undergraduate student. The University of Tulsa is very different from other schools in that our professors are readily accessible to undergards and grad students. In many universities, students will struggle to communicate effectively with their professors. As graduate students, the professor is more available to you and your questions regarding your research. Being a graduate student, your relationship will evlove into a partnership, almost an Apprenticeship from medieval times. You will be held to higher standards of learning in the calssroom. The classroom itself will be much more interactive, having mastered undergraduate topics your discussions can flow freely and coherently without much pause for explanation. Professors understand that many students will have lives outside of their research facility and they will accomodate to those needs. The schedules are much more flexible than that of undergrads. Professors like Dr. Henshaw will push you as a graduate student, but will make sure not to push you over the edge. They understand the limits of the human condition and are sympathetic to those, as most of them were in a similar situation. Graduate degerees in the field of engineering are very different to those say of a different degeree. Engineers can design and build structures without advanced degrees unlike that of doctors for example. Having a masters or PhD in engineering is really only useful in a couple jobs, according to Dr. Henshaw. Primarily, PhD's are requirred for teaching positions at any accredited university. Research and Development postions in industry also almost always require a doctoral degree. Dr. John Henshaw, Mechanical Engineering professor at the University of Tulsa, was interviewed and asked questions regarding the relationships and expectations he has for his graduate students. Here is his interview: Q. Do you prepare differently for graduate students than you do for undergrads? If so, how? A. The classes offered to graduate students are not necessarily harder than undergrad classes, but there is a difference. For one, as a graduate stuent you will be taking fewer classes and focusing more on your research rather than your courses. We look for undergraduate students to have significant experience in research such as TURC, or other research preformed at national labs. Q. What are your expectations for your graduate students in contrast to those for your undergrad classes? A. There is a generally accepted higher standard held at the graduate level. The classroom becomes much more interactive. Conversation between students and teachers is more free flowing and creative. They already understand all of the undergraduate principals and laws, so theres no need to go over those again and waste time. Q. Characterize as best as you can the student/teacher relationship in graduate school and how it differs from the undergaduate relationship. A. TU is different. Undergraduates have a huge amount of access to teachers compared to other universities. However, graduates are still a level above them. They are only slightly below that of teachers, but very close. They more or less walk along side by side, hand in hand per say. It is a partnership. The research we do together makes us equals. As an undergraduate teacher, I know all the right answers. But as a graduate student teacher, we are discovering the right answer together. Its very similar to the apprenticeship of a blacksmith shop in olden days. Q. What would you tell graduate students they need to do in order to prepare for graduate school? A. Learn to be familiar with research. Its not a very glamorous job, but its not a waste either. You will encounter a lot of dead ends, but you have to keep trying. I spent four years as a graduate student and most of my research that ended up in my thesis paper came from one year of the four. Sometimes thats just the way it works, everything just lines up and you figure out all the answers at the same time. It's a very non- linear relationship. Q. How do you try to meet the flexibitlity needs of your grad students? A. Well they are humans and people first. As a professor, you just have to be aware of that. You want to push your students but just make sure you are not pushing them over the edge. Q. How have you seen your graduate students balance school, work, and life? A. The founder of SENEA is a perfect example. He served 14 years in the army and was deployed several times. He had three kids before grad school and had one while he was in grad school and he was extremely bright. He made a lasting impact on campus while juggling everything else in his life. I was very proud of him.